[center][h2]Geralt, [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi[/color], and [color=crimson]Edelgard[/color][/h2]
The Qliphoth
Lvl 14 Geralt (66/140) +5 +7 -> Lvl 14 (84/140) (+1 pending)
Lvl 8 Zenkichi (40/80) +5 +4 +3 +4 +3 -> (65/80)
Lvl 3 Edelgard (27/30) +3 +4 +3 +3 +4 -> Level 4 (20/40)
Word count: 1,681 words (3x2 exp)[/center]

[center][hider=For Geralt]Item obtained:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/CdsQvFd.png][b]Barbed Wire Trap[/b][/url] x2
An enigmatic device, there is clearly evil within it. Once laid down, it can be stepped on -or shot from afar- to launch a coil of barbed wire to ensnare anyone in close proximity, inflicting slash damage and bleeding the more the captive struggles. It cannot be safely retrieved once deployed[/hider][/center]

[center][hider=For Zenkichi] Items obtained:
750 gold coins, 5x demon fangs, 3x demon scales, 8x demon claws, 20 handgun bullets, one green herb[/hider][/center]

With the Spirits they’d collected crushed, Geralt and Zenkichi joined the group at large trudging onward deeper into the Demon Tree. It wasn’t terribly slow going, with the group’s sheer numbers being more than enough to wipe out the token resistance left to offer by the Qliphoth. Each of the three had their fair share of demons and undead to destroy, though far from enough to constitute more than a minor effort. By the time they found the central area where the Consuls were lying in wait, they’d had more than enough slow going to clear their heads. 

[color=BFBFBF]”That’s an ominous entrance…”[/color] Zenkichi muttered, while Geralt sighed. 

“Reminds me of when we found the Orphan. Be ready for a hell of a fight.” He warned. 

[color=crimson]”So this is it, then? One of Galeem’s Guardians? They’ve certainly put no shortage of barriers between them and us.”[/color] Edelgard inquired, hackles raising. 

“Unless they’ve just suddenly gotten smarter for…fuck.” Geralt sighed as the doors opened, realizing the [i]other[/i] reason that their enemies would suddenly become more organized, with Zenkichi’s shoulders slumping. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Consul?”[/color] He sighed.

“Consul.” Geralt concurred as the Juggernauts pushed open the gargantuan doors, revealing not one, nor two, but [i]three[/i] Consuls waiting for them. “Well, Edelgard, you get quite the introduction to the Seekers. Three Consuls and a Guardian. They’ve certainly gotten fed up with us.” He joked, summoning his twin hydroblades before casting Quen, as Zenkichi summoned Ragnell and Edelgard Aymr. 

[color=crimson]”Then I’ll be sure not to disappoint.”[/color] The Empress replied haughtily, raising her shield. 

While the three conversed amongst themselves, the floodfested horde made its break for the throne, ignoring every attack sent their way by the Seekers. They coalesced into a truly colossal form, a hideous amalgamation of the flesh of thousands, if not millions, of denizens of the Dead Zone. As Consul A began his monologue, Geralt rolled his eyes. If the Consuls were supposed to protect the Guardians, they’d been doing a pretty terrible job of it until the Orphan and Red Eye were dead. 

As the battle broke out, Geralt, Edelgard, and Zenkichi kept close to the center, each considering the fight. Geralt and Zenkichi’s minds were more occupied with O’s true nature, while Edelgard had her focus on the Gravemind. It was too large to contend with in typical fashion, and would require careful strategy to harm without being crushed beneath its sheer mass. 

The Consul, on the other hand, was a more tricky situation. They could be elsewhere, projecting their abilities over great distance, or hidden within the same arena and merely using the great eyes as a distraction from their true form. 

The others, of course, charged forward and leapt straight into battle, and though Edelgard was loathe to refrain, she held back. Her limited abilities were frustrating, but little was worse than being harmed due to one’s own rustiness, Galeem-induced or no. So, she stayed back even as Juri and Edward rushed onwards, contemplating her strategy. It seemed that mobility would be key here. Thankfully, with the double dragon dance, she could at least move much faster than normal. When she made her move, it would be easier to avoid being crushed.

Zenkichi, for his part, swapped to Restoration Protocol. The group would need the healing, and he could target his buffs to wounded allies, and try to time his use of offensive skills for when he was near others who needed a hand. He watched O’s actions, or more accurately, the actions of the creatures he’d summoned, and frowned. [color=BFBFBF]”I mean, I know they’re actually pretty dangerous, but…hippos?”[/color] It didn’t make sense to him. He did catch, however, the Deimos drones that Gravemind had created and was sending their way. [color=BFBFBF]”Incoming!”[/color] He cried, swinging Ragnell to fire a beam of energy into the swarm. 

Edelgard, for her part, hefted her blazing Aymr and, memories of a forgotten technique returning to her, hurled the false Hero’s Relic into the incoming drones. The axe blazed through the drones, incinerating a few before dissipating and reappearing in Edelgard’s hand. As the drones flew even closer, Geralt stepped forward, drawing the Sign of Aard to destabilize them with a telekinetic blast. 

As Zenkichi leapt forward to carve into the flying monsters, O turned his gaze onto the three isolated Seekers, and worked his magic. Hedges sprung up around them, heralding the arrival of the observation tower he had summoned. [color=BFBFBF]”What the-”[/color]

“COVER!” Geralt yelled once the observation deck reached the top and began plummeting down. He cast Quen, focusing the Sign into an active bubble, even as Deimos drones crashed into it and tried to break through. Zenkichi, meanwhile, dismissed Ragnell and summoned the greatsword Sandalphon had bought for him, lifting it up to hide behind while Edelgard huddled behind her shield. 

When the deck hit the ground, it exploded with a violent crunch, sending glass shards everywhere in the cramped plaza. The Deimos drones were shredded into nothingness, though not before having grabbed Zenkichi and clearing his dragon dance buffs. Geralt’s bubble shield exploded violently, with shards of glass slicing his face, though the magical properties of his bleed amulet kept the cuts from bleeding [i]too[/i]badly. Zenkichi fared somewhat better, the iron slab of a weapon he used for cover having deflected much of the shrapnel. Edelgard lifted her head and let out a sigh of relief, the glass having been completely blocked by her armor and shield. 

They were not given any room to breathe, however, before the Gravemind’s tentacle loomed overhead, threatening to crush them if they remained still. The three scrambled away from the edge of the ruined plaza as the tentacle slammed down, leaving behind infection forms and some lingering floodfested. Geralt rolled his eyes and summoned the Judicator to heal his wounds as he rushed in to destroy the chaff that the Guardian had left behind. 

Zenkichi and Edelgard took the chance to make a beeline for the edge of the fenced-in area, easily cutting the hedges down with their flaming weapons, Zenkichi’s empowered by Edward’s spell and Edelgard’s her own fiery determination. The iron fence lasted little longer, and the pair called over to Geralt to break free with them. As they escaped back into the arena proper, the trio got a good look at how things had progressed since they were imprisoned. It looked like the Consuls were commanding the most attention, though that wasn’t terribly surprising. While the Guardians were menacing in their own right, the Consuls commanded attention like little other. 

“We should try to bring down the Guardian first.” Geralt suggested. “Each Consul can grow stronger and unleash a form known as Moebius,” he explained to Edelgard. “And if they do, especially if several do at once, things will get hairy fast. Take down the Guardian, though, and one of us can use its power to turn the tide. Considering what that thing looks like, it’ll come at a hell of a cost, but whether we kill it first or last, we have no choice. The Guardian will regenerate if left alone, and its Spirit can’t be destroyed or bound as a Striker.” 

[color=crimson]”I am loathe to imagine what that would transform somebody into.”[/color] Edelgard shuddered. Even the Immaculate One was far from as hideous as this creature. As for the battle, she also could see that the armored figures had taken the focus of their allies. [color=crimson]”Then if these Consuls seek to protect the Guardian, let them lay down their lives to do so.”[/color] She threatened, running forward with Aymr held high. Geralt rolled his eyes as he followed her, casting Quen again to protect himself, and Zenkichi lagged a bit behind, giving himself a speed boost with Sukukaja and triggering Preservation Protocol to heal up more of the damage he and Geralt had taken. They had to take a small detour around to the side in order to avoid Juri and Nadia’s fight.

As they neared D’s throne, they saw Roland and Roxas fighting to command the vampire’s attention, while Juri pummeled Nadia. Geralt paid it no mind, though he waved the other two onward, joining Roland’s efforts against the Consul to buy time for Zenkichi and Edelgard to get past the throne and attack the Gravemind directly. Quen shimmering around his form, he leapt at D like a bat out of hell, overwhelming the Consul for a brief and shining moment and landing several slashes with his hydro blades, before jumping back to evade a backhand from D. The Consul retaliated with a series of fireballs before Geralt could reposition, and though he dodged the first, the second and third crashed into him, destroying the shield from Quen and knocking him back. This was not without consequence, as a large pulse of lightning radiated from Geralt, hitting both the Consul and Nadia, mind controlled as she was. 

As Geralt took D’s attention, Zenkichi and Edelgard rushed past the throne and the fight to reach the Guardian. Primrose and Midna’s lance of dark energy still pulsed within it, and the pair went to work swiftly at hacking into the overgrown flesh monster. Their weapons, enhanced by fire, dealt noticeable damage, but they were soon set upon by more Deimos drones, causing Zenkichi to sigh and break off from carving at the Guardian. [color=BFBFBF]”Be right back.”[/color] He advised Edelgard, letting out a howl as he activated Fury, hefting his greatsword and launching into a combo of attacks, blasts of Almighty energy flying from the end of his blade with each swing and into the debuffers. 

As the Phantom Thief fought off the nuisance of the drones, Geralt dismissed his hydro weapons and drew Odysseus’s Bow. He fired a pair of arrows D’s way before casting the Sign of Yrden in its Glyph of Warding configuration to ward off the Consul’s retaliatory projectiles. Once the Glyph was active, he returned to firing at D, while keeping himself wary for counter-attacks. He’d seen D’s speed already, and was prepared to summon the Judicator to buy himself a moment to change tactics if he was rushed.